Derailment
On June 21, 1970, in Crescent City, Illinois, there was a train accident. Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, discusses it in a section titled “List of Rail Accidents”. It states “Toledo, Peoria and Western Railroad Company's Train No. 20 derails in downtown Crescent City; propane tank car ruptures and explosions cause fires that destroy the city center. No fatalities.” That is a nice concise description, but it hardly scratches the surface of what went on that day.
Shortly after dawn, a young girl was delivering the Daily Journal newspaper to area residents. She heard the accident, but was busy with her task at hand. Suddenly, she felt heat. The heat was so strong that in began to burn her clothes.
The train had been heading east across central Illinois. It was powered by four locomotives and carried 109 cars. According to a study by Marvin Resnikoff for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office, a motorist spotted smoke coming from one of the train cars approximately ten miles west of Crescent City. Nothing is reported about whether the motorist contacted anyone and, with the train traveling over forty miles per hour, there certainly would not have been time to act.
The original derailment was recorded at 6:30 A.M. Of those attached cars, fifteen came off the tracks. Of those fifteen were nine tanker cars contained liquefied petroleum gas. One of the train cars sheared a nearby power pole causing electrical service to be cut off. The young girl’s father rushed her to nearby Watseka Memorial Hospital. There she was treated for first and second degree burns.
Fire fighters arrived and were trying to contain the fire which was burning intensely. Fire companies from 32 surrounding towns, including Paxton and Buckley appeared with 53 pieces of equipment. 234 firemen were on the scene.
Chanute Air Force in Rantoul sent a foam truck. They informed the local fire fighters that water would be unable to contain such a fire that including burning propane.
Shortly after 9:30 A.M., three hours after the derailment, two tanker cars exploded. One reported traveled over 200 yards as a result tearing apart many downtown businesses... Just before 11:00 A.M., a third exploded as well.
The fires burned until 9:00 P.M. Monday night. In all sixty-six people were injured, sixteen businesses were destroyed, seven others were damaged and twenty-five homes were destroyed.
Amazingly, there is video. When the accident occurred, news media made a beeline for the little town in Iroquois County. Someone who brought a camera was somehow able to record the damage of the initial accident received an added bonus of additional carnage.
Thirty-six years hasn’t dulled the memory of the residents of the area. If you bring it up to anyone fifty or older, they will recreate their experience of the day from the moment they opened their eyes in the morning until long after the sun set. Some even will get a little teary eyed remembering the hardships that followed and the struggle to rebuild a town that had buildings, and a reputation, badly damaged.
It seemed that everyone within a one hundred mile radius was aware and came to see the damage. Weeks later, people gathered in the bleachers of a crowded Crescent City High School gymnasium while the video was shown on a not-so-large screen. It was exciting to see the fire rise into the sky, not unlike pictures you see of the atom bomb being dropped on Japan at the end of World War II. Someone with somber tone spoke about the horrible tragedy that befell the residents of Crescent City, Illinois.
If you ever drive through “Crescent”, as many Iroquois County residents call it today, you will see a sign directing you to a landmark. The landmark offers still pictures and a brief description of the events thirty-six years old. As you pass, you may not be able to recognize what happened years before, but to those who remember, the changes are obvious.
On the north side of the Route 24, there are very few businesses standing, even today. There is a basketball court and the landmark, but very few buildings. On the south side of Route 24, where once stood three story row buildings as you see in many small Iroquois County towns, is the equivalent of a strip mall, housing a bank, and dentist’s office and other small businesses.
The great train fire of 1970 is Crescent City, Illinois’ claim to fame. No one living there will ever forget Father’s Day that year.
In parts of the world far away, I wish that for them. I hope and pray they have a day like June 22, 1970 where they can stop worrying about any more destruction and begin to think about getting through the next day.
I hope and pray they can look back at a meaningless 36th anniversary of when the mayhem stopped.
Many milestones are fun to remember. They make us remember times and people we love. On June 20th, I will remember the people from a small town not so far away. I will remember what they lost and what they gained.
I hope that people living through a different type of terror will get that chance as well.
Shortly after dawn, a young girl was delivering the Daily Journal newspaper to area residents. She heard the accident, but was busy with her task at hand. Suddenly, she felt heat. The heat was so strong that in began to burn her clothes.
The train had been heading east across central Illinois. It was powered by four locomotives and carried 109 cars. According to a study by Marvin Resnikoff for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Project Office, a motorist spotted smoke coming from one of the train cars approximately ten miles west of Crescent City. Nothing is reported about whether the motorist contacted anyone and, with the train traveling over forty miles per hour, there certainly would not have been time to act.
The original derailment was recorded at 6:30 A.M. Of those attached cars, fifteen came off the tracks. Of those fifteen were nine tanker cars contained liquefied petroleum gas. One of the train cars sheared a nearby power pole causing electrical service to be cut off. The young girl’s father rushed her to nearby Watseka Memorial Hospital. There she was treated for first and second degree burns.
Fire fighters arrived and were trying to contain the fire which was burning intensely. Fire companies from 32 surrounding towns, including Paxton and Buckley appeared with 53 pieces of equipment. 234 firemen were on the scene.
Chanute Air Force in Rantoul sent a foam truck. They informed the local fire fighters that water would be unable to contain such a fire that including burning propane.
Shortly after 9:30 A.M., three hours after the derailment, two tanker cars exploded. One reported traveled over 200 yards as a result tearing apart many downtown businesses... Just before 11:00 A.M., a third exploded as well.
The fires burned until 9:00 P.M. Monday night. In all sixty-six people were injured, sixteen businesses were destroyed, seven others were damaged and twenty-five homes were destroyed.
Amazingly, there is video. When the accident occurred, news media made a beeline for the little town in Iroquois County. Someone who brought a camera was somehow able to record the damage of the initial accident received an added bonus of additional carnage.
Thirty-six years hasn’t dulled the memory of the residents of the area. If you bring it up to anyone fifty or older, they will recreate their experience of the day from the moment they opened their eyes in the morning until long after the sun set. Some even will get a little teary eyed remembering the hardships that followed and the struggle to rebuild a town that had buildings, and a reputation, badly damaged.
It seemed that everyone within a one hundred mile radius was aware and came to see the damage. Weeks later, people gathered in the bleachers of a crowded Crescent City High School gymnasium while the video was shown on a not-so-large screen. It was exciting to see the fire rise into the sky, not unlike pictures you see of the atom bomb being dropped on Japan at the end of World War II. Someone with somber tone spoke about the horrible tragedy that befell the residents of Crescent City, Illinois.
If you ever drive through “Crescent”, as many Iroquois County residents call it today, you will see a sign directing you to a landmark. The landmark offers still pictures and a brief description of the events thirty-six years old. As you pass, you may not be able to recognize what happened years before, but to those who remember, the changes are obvious.
On the north side of the Route 24, there are very few businesses standing, even today. There is a basketball court and the landmark, but very few buildings. On the south side of Route 24, where once stood three story row buildings as you see in many small Iroquois County towns, is the equivalent of a strip mall, housing a bank, and dentist’s office and other small businesses.
The great train fire of 1970 is Crescent City, Illinois’ claim to fame. No one living there will ever forget Father’s Day that year.
In parts of the world far away, I wish that for them. I hope and pray they have a day like June 22, 1970 where they can stop worrying about any more destruction and begin to think about getting through the next day.
I hope and pray they can look back at a meaningless 36th anniversary of when the mayhem stopped.
Many milestones are fun to remember. They make us remember times and people we love. On June 20th, I will remember the people from a small town not so far away. I will remember what they lost and what they gained.
I hope that people living through a different type of terror will get that chance as well.
Labels: news
posted by Alexander Dimm | 10:03 PM
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